Federation: Taurasi tests positive for modafinil

FILE - This Sept. 29, 2010, file photo shows Diana Taurasi, of Team USA, right, looking to pass as Jenna O´Hea of Australia, left, defends during their World Basketball Championship round of 16 match in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The Turkish basketball federation says a stimulant used to counter excessive sleepiness was the banned substance Taurasi tested positive for, leading to the WNBA standout's suspension from the pro team she's playing for in Turkey. (AP Photo/CTK, Jaroslav Ozana)
— AP

FILE - This Sept. 29, 2010, file photo shows Diana Taurasi, of Team USA, right, looking to pass as Jenna O´Hea of Australia, left, defends during their World Basketball Championship round of 16 match in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The Turkish basketball federation says a stimulant used to counter excessive sleepiness was the banned substance Taurasi tested positive for, leading to the WNBA standout's suspension from the pro team she's playing for in Turkey. (AP Photo/CTK, Jaroslav Ozana)
/ AP

FILE - In this Sunday, July 2, 2006 file photo, Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (3) drives to the hoop against Washington Mystics forward Tamara James (2) during the second half of their WNBA game in Phoenix. The lawyer for WNBA standout Diana Taurasi tells The Associated Press that the former UConn star has tested positive for a mild stimulant while playing in a pro basketball league overseas. (AP Photo/Tom Hood, File)— AP

FILE - In this Sunday, July 2, 2006 file photo, Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (3) drives to the hoop against Washington Mystics forward Tamara James (2) during the second half of their WNBA game in Phoenix. The lawyer for WNBA standout Diana Taurasi tells The Associated Press that the former UConn star has tested positive for a mild stimulant while playing in a pro basketball league overseas. (AP Photo/Tom Hood, File)
/ AP

FILE - This Sept. 10, 2010, filoe photo shows USA's Diana Taurasi driving to the basket while guarded by Australia's Laura Summerton, left, during the second half of an exhibition basketball game, in Hartford, Conn. The Turkish basketball federation says a stimulant used to counter excessive sleepiness was the banned substance Diana Taurasi tested positive for, leading to the WNBA standout's suspension from the pro team she's playing for in Turkey. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)— AP

FILE - This Sept. 10, 2010, filoe photo shows USA's Diana Taurasi driving to the basket while guarded by Australia's Laura Summerton, left, during the second half of an exhibition basketball game, in Hartford, Conn. The Turkish basketball federation says a stimulant used to counter excessive sleepiness was the banned substance Diana Taurasi tested positive for, leading to the WNBA standout's suspension from the pro team she's playing for in Turkey. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
/ AP

NEW YORK 
WNBA standout and former UConn star Diana Taurasi tested positive for modafinil while playing in a professional women's league in Turkey, the country's basketball federation said Friday.

Neither her lawyer nor her team, Fenerbahce, would confirm that Taurasi tested positive for the stimulant, which has been involved in several major doping cases, including that of U.S. sprinter Kelli White.

Modafinil is used to counter excessive sleepiness due to narcolepsy, shift-work sleep disorder or sleep apnea, according to the website for the prescription drug Provigil, which contains the substance.

The Turkish Basketball Federation statement cited a report from the lab at Hacettepe University and said: "... the urine sample taken from Diana Taurasi as a part of the regular process, after a game between Istanbul University and Fenerbahce ... tested positive for modafinil, one of the illegal substances on WADA's banned stimulants list, according to preliminary test results." WADA is the World Anti-Doping Agency.

"We're not going to confirm what the drug is," Taurasi's lawyer, Howard Jacobs, told The Associated Press Friday. "We'll revisit it after the "B" sample returns. They shouldn't be speaking about it at all."

White won the 100- and 200-meter races at the 2003 world championships in Paris, but both her medals were stripped after she tested positive for the stimulant.

Jacobs said Taurasi's "A" sample came back positive last week and that the substance "was not a steroid or recreational drug."

Taurasi has been provisionally suspended pending the testing of her "B" sample, sometime early next month. She has already missed three games with Fenerbahce. The team's website said she and another player were asked to submit to a test on Nov. 13, following the game against Istanbul. It said they were selected as a result of a draw. The other player tested negative.

Fenerbahce said Taurasi was upset that the doping claims broke before the testing process was finalized.

"She is extremely disturbed that her right to confidentiality has been breached and doping claims have been made even before the results of her test are out," the team's website said.

If the "B' sample comes back positive, it could put her 2012 Olympics status with the U.S. national basketball team in jeopardy. She has helped the team win gold medals at the past two Olympics and was the leading scorer at the women's world championships, which the Americans won in early October.

The International Olympic Committee bars any athlete given a doping penalty of six months or more from competing in the next games.

"At this point we're aware of the situation and we're monitoring things and letting the process take its course," USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller said. "Until that happens we can't comment."

Taurasi's test came to light two days after the top-ranked Huskies won their 89th straight game, surpassing the UCLA men's winning streak from 1971-74. Taurasi helped lead UConn to three straight national championships as well as 70 consecutive victories from 2001-03. She was the AP Player of the Year in 2003.